Can you solve 6 / 2(2 + 1)=?

The math problem is written EXACTLY as intended. No additional hints will be given.

QuestionsGalore1234: You said "but the fact that you bring sine into this really boggles my mind", this is probably because the word "sine" in my question is a type-o. The intended word is "some". There is some disagreement regarding this math problem. I was typing on a phone, apologies :)

I'll give a few more hours to answer and then I'll choose a best answer if one exists (not that one necessarily doesn't. I just don't want to spoil it)... and fret not, I'll post the complete logic and work through ending the mystery behind this problem once and for all!

Here's the explanation:

There is lots of confusion around this simple math problem. It all started with Facebook when I saw the question posted by someone else. There were over 3,000 guesses and only about 1 in 5 was right. What makes this really annoying was that the people who were wrong were absolutely confident that they were right and attempted to defend it to their last breath. So I decided to run my own little test and end the mystery once and for all!

The confusion around the problem is that people think it’s ambiguously written. That there’s some sway in how to interpret it. This is one of the main reasons people come up with the wrong answer. The other reason is because they try to over complicate something that is really quite simple. The question is written just as it is intended. If the 2(2 + 1) were intended to be solved first the problem would be written 6 / [2(2 + 1)].

The correct and only answer: 6 / 2(2 + 1) = 9

Reasoning:

There are exactly 2 acc

Reasoning:

There are exactly 2 accepted ways to correctly work this problem. Either simple PEMDAS or you may choose distribution. Either way you do it, if you do it correctly, you will receive an answer of 9!

Notation for below work is in the form ANSWER – Logic for how I got here

PEMDAS:

The most common wrong answer comes from incorrect order of operations! This is the correct method.

6 / 2(2 + 1) = X

6 / 2 (3) = X – Add 2+1 because they are in parenthesis

3 * 3 = X – Divided 6 / 2 because division and multiplication are worked in order from left to right

9 = X – Multiplying 3 with 3 gives you and answer of 9

Distribution:

The second most common incorrect answer comes from people not understanding what division really is. Division is a FRACTION!

6 / 2(2 + 1) = X

3(2 + 1) = X – Simplify the fraction to a whole number, alternatively you can distribute the fraction 6/2

6 + 3 = X – Distribute the 3 or 6/2 by multiplying it to both numbers in the binomial (2 + 1) to end up with 6 +

Working backwards:

Proving 9 is the only possible answer

6 / 2 (2 + X) = 9 – Plug in 9 as the assumed answer, remove the 1 and replace with an unknown (X), solve for X.

6 + 3X = 9 – Distribute 6/2 to simplify

3X = 3 – Subtract 6 from both sides

X = 1 – Divide both sides by 3, and you're left with X = 1 proving that 6 / 2 (2 + 1) = 9

Proving 1 can NOT be a possible answer

6 / 2(2 + X) = 1 - Plug in 1 as the assumed answer, remove the 1in the problem and replace with an unknown (X), solve for X

6 + 3X = 1 – Distribute 6/2 to simplify

3X = -5 – Subtract 6 from both sides

X = -0.6 – Divide both sides by 3, and you're left with x = -0.6 proving that 6 / 2 (2 + 1) cannot be 1 because we know that originally X was not -0.6

And there you have it.

Who got best answer and why: Originally I had another person in mind who technically gave me a correct answer first, but sadly they altered their answer to include a bit of information I found irrelevant to the question. I tried to help the guy out with my additional details but unfortunately he didn’t change his answer back in time. Cassie, your answer is the best pick because it is both correct and shows the PEMDAS order of operations method. Thank you all for playing and I have given a thumbs up to everyone who did not answer incorrectly, including my original pick for best answer. I wanted to give it